Aside from the issue they list about the severity levels not being entirely thought through, it looks like they'll give a clearer definition of what autism is and who has it and reduce the number of misdiagnoses. In general I'd say it's a good thing.

is that it's going to be reduced to one label- 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder'. This has the potential to be pretty damaging really, especially for schoolchildren- many teachers don't understand the subtleties of the individual conditions as it is, and lumping them erroneously under one big banner won't help matters.

I got a letter printed in the Guardian a while back about it, which says it clearer than this post does; I'll try to find it.

Also just realised I'm talking to a trainee teacher... have you done any placements yet, and if so have you come across any obviously ASD kids? How have the teachers' responses to them been?

Colleges seem much more equipped than they were a few years a go. I've not taught any yet though.

I actually think the lack of understanding of the subtleties between the different conditions (and particularly how blurred the lines between them can be) is one of the reasons why this makes sense. Realistically any non-medical professional is going to find it hard to learn everything about all the different forms of autism, in addition to all the other disabilities and medical students someone may have. And, even if they did, the fact that people within the same conditions can be very different to each other in terms of how they behave and what they respond to.

It makes far more sense to learn about autism generally and then respond to people as individuals and I think this move makes it easier for those with autism to be treated as individuals without people getting confused by labels.

(see numerous tabloid comments on Asperger's being 'spoilt brat disorder' and other such things). I just think it's rushed and isn't being followed up with anything. If there was some sort of compulsory training or education on the different ASDs, I might be in favour. But realistically, someone with ADHD is never going to be the same as someone with Asperger's or HFA and that needs recognising.

Most teachers I had didn't understand the medical conditions I had. They knew what they needed to, which was what they needed to take into account when I was in class and when marking my work and the fact I might occasionally be late or need to leave the classroom but that was pretty much it.

It's obviously important to make the necessary adjustments to work with people with medical conditions and take their needs into account but there's so many different medical conditions a student might have that a teacher can't possibly know everything about all of them and, as I say, the needs individuals are so much more important than the general diagnostic stuff in the text book.

Generally I think it's far, far easier and more productive to find out what a particular student needs when they join your class than it is to train teachers to be walking medical encyclopedias.

At the moment a lot of people self-diagnose with an autistic spectrum disorder even though they wouldn't be likely to meet the criteria for a medical diagnosis for a particular condition.

It seems to me that just diagnosing people as being on the spectrum means that those who fall between cracks could get a formal diagnosis where as there's also much clearer guidelines to let people know if they aren't actually autistic at all.

Just saying that at the moment a lot of people self-diagnose and, as things stand at the moment, some of them will be incorrect and others WILL have an autistic spectrum disorder and just be hard to put in a particular category so may be told incorrectly that they're fine.

Whereas by making the criteria a bit more general and removing some of the specifics, those in the second category WILL be able to get the help, even if it's not clear what category they belong to. Meanwhile those in the first category will be able to be given a much clearer explanation that they don't meet the criteria.

My only real experience of it all is my brother, who has learning disabilities, we suspect after oxygen starvation at birth. Many doctors have tried to handle him with reference to the Autistic spectrum - he displays many traits. Other doctors have insisted that there is no such thing as an autistic spectrum, one is either autistic, or one isn't. As with all 'conditions of the mind', perfect diagnoses is all but impossible, especially when the person with the condition is functionally incapable of explaining themselves.